Term | Definition |
Theory of Evolution | change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift. |
Adaptation | any change in the structure or function of an organism or any of its parts that results from natural selection and by which the organism becomes better fitted to survive and multiply in its environment. |
natural selection | the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators,changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others |
fossil | the preserved remains, trace, or imprint of an ancient organism. |
Charles Darwin | a naturalist that study finches in the Galapogos Islands and is given credit for developing the theory of evolution. |
Survival of the Fittest | the name given by Darwin to the concept that organisms best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on their traits to offspring. |
Species | the lowest, or most specific, level of classification; a group of similar individuals that can breed to produce fertile offspring. |
Inheritance | attributes acquired via biological heredity from the parents |
Artificial selection | the process used in selective breeding. |
Selective breeding | the process through which humans use naturally occurring genetic patterns to pass desired traits on to generations. |
Fossil record | refers to all fossils that have been found since the study of fossils began. |
Mutations | are random changes in DNA that act as another way organisms evolve. |
Interdependence of Organisms | dependence between abiotic and biotic factors |
Ecosystem | organisms interacting with their environment |
Extinction | the end of an organism |
Cycling of Matter | the cycling of living and nonliving matter in an ecosystem |
Flow of Energy | the transferring of energy within an ecosystem |
Prokaryotic | one-celled organism without membrane-bound organelles |
Eukaryotic | an organism WITH a membrane-bound nucleus |